Making Herstory: Women in the Virginia Spirits Industry
Happy Golden (Cocktails) of Yore
By Patrick Evans-Hylton The holidays are a time for tradition and breaking bread with family and friends. Of course, our favorite (real and hypothetical) bread comes from a Virginia bounty of local grains. Tables across the commonwealth will soon be filled with roasted oysters and rockfish; baked ham in a brown sugar glaze and stuffed with […]
Prohibition, America’s Failed Noble Experiment
By Patrick Evans-Hylton Despite the devil-may-care attitude at the end of the 19th century, which included the first golden era of the cocktail, a storm was brewing on the horizon. Across Virginia, and across the whole country, a call for temperance rose from a few meetings of the like-minded who thought alcohol consumption should be curbed to […]
Virginia Spirits Raise The “Bar”
By Patrick Evans-Hylton There’s always been a place where Virginians could gather and enjoy a drink or two. But in our 400-plus year history, the bar (if you will pardon the pun) has been raised. Taverns were well established in England prior to colonists coming to Virginia, so it makes sense that they would become part […]
From First Landing to First Spirit – Celebrating Virginia as the Birthplace of American Spirits
By Patrick Evans-Hylton In 1606, London was crowded with taverns, offering up pewter mugs of beer, cider, and wine. There was drink meant for heartier souls too, including genevere, a gin-like, juniper-centric liquor, and a somewhat ubiquitous distilled spirit known as “aqua vitae”. On December 20 of that year, three small ships were docked in the […]
